Jaune's Band
by Fireballmonkey
Summary: Jaune can safely say that he is good at few things. His music is one of them. He and his friends get into all sorts of mischief as they struggle with their lives as teenagers. Rated for drug use, language.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own RWBY or the songs in this story**

* * *

 **Thursday**

 **November**

Jaune woke up to his alarm playing Hip To Be Square by Huey Lewis. Why, one might ask? Because he hated that song, for reasons, and since the alarm clock was on his desk, he had to get up to disable it. At that point, he just decided to get ready for the day. Just like every school-day.

He showered and put on his clothes, blatantly ignoring his sisters' yelling at him to hurry up. Jaune dressed himself in jeans, a white v-neck t-shirt and his black hoodie with orange lining. He walked out to the beat up station wagon, one of the two vehicles the Arc family owned. The other was a van big enough to seat his father, Nicolas Arc, his sisters, and himself. "Jaune!" He turned to see his youngest sister, Amber, run out with a piece of toast. "You can't forget breakfast!" She attempted to scold him as she gave him the toast. Despite her attempts, the adorable 8 year-old was just too cute. He just smiled and ruffled her hair as he got into the car.

"Thanks, Amber. Now go get ready for school. You don't wanna be late."

"Hmph, look who's talking." She said as she went back inside. Jaune started up his car and listened as Bohemian Rhapsody came on the radio.

* * *

Jaune pulled into the student parking lot and got out of the car. As he looked at his phone, he saw that he was five minutes late. Now, for any other teacher, it wouldn't be a big deal. But Jaune had his first class with Glynda Goodwitch. The scariest woman at Beacon High School. He'd get a detention for sure.

As the teen walked to class, he tried to think of a good excuse. He came up with bupkis. He finally got to the door of his English classroom and just decided to wing it. Now, he had to face the witch.

* * *

Blake read her book as class started. She sat near the back of the room, and as Ms. Goodwitch took role, she just read and automatically said "here" when her name was called. About ten minutes into class and she looked up, along with the rest of the class, to see a blonde guy walk into the door with a bored expression. The teacher immediately glared at him.

"Ah, Mr. Arc. Would you care to explain to the class and I why you are late?"

The blonde stood there for a moment, seeming to think it over.

"Well, I was about to get out of my car and walk into school, but then Bohemian Rhapsody started playing on the radio and I couldn't walk away from that."

A few people chuckled before they saw Ms. Goodrich's face. She looked absolutely furious, but seemed to keep it together, "So...You're telling me that the reason you were ten minutes late is that you were sitting in your car, in front of school, listening to a song?"

"...That about sums it up, yeah."

"I see. Well Mr. Arc, you will be having detention tomorrow after school."

"...Okay." The boy then walked to his desk, which was one to the right and one forward from Blake's. As the blonde boy sat down, Blake went back to her book and class continued onward.

Meanwhile, Weiss Schnee, who sat next to the boy, scowled at him in disgust.

* * *

At lunch, the three occupants of Jaune's table burst out laughing, except Ren, who just wore an amused smile and shook his head with his arms crossed, but that was about as good as it got with Ren. The boy had black hair that covered one of his magenta eyes and ran down his back in a ponytail with a pink streak in it.

"And she gave you detention tomorrow?" A blonde monkey faunus asked. His name was Sun. The boy next to him, Neptune, was still recovering from the laughter.

"Yep." Jaune said with a blank face as he propped his head up on one arm and held a sandwich with the other. Neptune, finally done laughing, chimed in, "Well, at least you won't be alone."

Sun and Ren immediately froze, Ren recovering quicker and glaring at their blue-haired friend. Sun joined in and menacingly hissed out, "Nep, don't even think about it."

Jaune was getting confused here. "Wait, what happened?" Ren and Sun were getting threateningly close to Neptune while still glaring. "Neptune, I want you to think long and hard, and ask yourself if this is what you want to do." The boy in question started sweating and shrunk in his seat. When it was clear he wouldn't talk, the other boys sat back down, Ren next to Jaune and Sun across from him, next to Neptune. "So, I take it you guys have detention tomorrow?" They all nodded. Jaune sighed, "At least I won't suffer alone."

Lunch passed on rather fast in the cafeteria, the four of them eating, talking and laughing. They weren't aware of the girls gossiping about them a few tables away. Yang Xiao Long, her sister, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna. The girls, minus Blake, were currently discussing The blonde boy from Blake and Weiss's AP English class who'd been late. Weiss seemed the most annoyed as she fumed about the guy's ignorance and such. "Then that ruffian has the gaul to give his excuse. He said that he was late because he was sitting in his car, listening to a song."

The two sisters shared a look before turning back to the white-haired girl, "What song was it?" Ruby asked curiously. Weiss looked honestly taken aback by the question, but after a moment she just face palmed. "I believe he said he was listening to Bohemian Rhapsody." The three girls looked at Blake, before Ruby and Yang once again looked at each other. "Well...can you really blame him, Weiss?" Once again, Weiss was taken even further back.

"Wha-Can you-are you serious? There's no excuse for being late to school! Let alone a song."

It was Yang's turn to put in her two cents, "Have you ever heard it, Weiss? It's a historic classic." The Schnee just groaned in frustration and sat back down. The bell rang, and the girls started packing up and leaving the cafeteria. As they walked out, Blake noticed the group of boys Weiss had been ridiculing not seconds ago walk just ahead of them. Blake was able to pick up on some of their conversation thanks to her (secretly) enhanced faunus hearing.

"So, we still on for today after school?" The faunus of their group asked.

"Yeah." The other blonde said.

The blue haired one then informed, "You think will have time to get food afterwards?"

"If we do, I'll have to bring Nora along." The one with the ponytail added. "Look, we'll talk later, if I don't get to Oobleck's class in time, I'll get another detention." The more scraggly blonde responded before hurrying off down the hall. He had the same history class as her? How could Blake not notice for almost three months of school? That blonde boy was definitely strange from what she'd seen.

* * *

Well, history had been rather dull as Blake observed the strange blonde boy who she only knew as 'Mr. Arc', according to Ms. Goodwitch. The guy just looked bored as hell while he and the rest of the class tried to follow along with what Dr. Oobleck was saying as he continued his coffee-fueled rant about the faunus rights revolution. As Doctor Ooblek suddenly appeared in front of Jaune, he asked him, "Mr. Arc, please name the faunus general who was executed at Fort Crimson on May 19, x1348."

Jaune knew this one easy. "General Michael Jones."

"Excellent!" He then rushed over to a black-haired girl with a bow on her head, "Miss Belladonna, what was the nickname given to the officer who ordered the execution, Colonel Haywood, and why?"

The girl looked up from her copy of _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ , "The Mad King. He more than once ordered his own men to fall on their own swords rather than surrender, and many often questioned his sanity."

The professor exclaimed, "Capital answer, Miss Belladonna." Before the bell rang. "It appears we've run out of time, class. Remember to read pages 237 to 280 as homework tonight."

 _Sweet, no homework,_ Jaune thought as he walked out the door. He actually liked history, and so he'd already learned most of the lesson from various books or documentaries. _And now it's time for math...fucking glorious._

* * *

 **Hey** **guys! Thank you for being patient with my writing schedule. I'll try to keep better timing with posting chapters, but don't hold your breath. Nothing's set in stone.**

 **Feel free to leave reviews and maybe check out my other story, it's a crossover of Far Cry and RWBY.**

 **Fireball monkey out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own anything.**

* * *

 **2:45 pm**

 _Freedom._

That was all Jaune could think about as he walked out of his last class of the day. He started walking to the fine arts building. It was really a bunch of big rooms used for storage or art classes. But, one of these rooms were just perfect for his friends to do what they loved.

The blonde ambled across the quad to get to practice.

When he walked into room 4C at the end of the hallway of the FAB, he saw Ren already waiting, tuning his bass guitar. He was dressed in a light grey t-shirt, black pants, dark grey shoes and an open, forest green sweater. They exchanged nods as Jaune walked passed him to retrieve the guitar from the corner of the room where a variety of musical instruments were neatly stored.

The room was about the size of two classrooms, with grey walls, fluorescent lights hanging down from the also grey ceiling, and faded, stained, black carpet that made a strange ' _ploof_ ' sound when you walked on it. There were also some couches and multiple desks. On the far side of the room, the bottom half of the wall could be raised to allow air and light into the room, giving the occupants a spectacular view of the parking lot, but the sun also shined clearly into the room as they opened the retractable door. As Jaune started setting up the amps, microphones and drums, he heard the door open and saw Sun and Neptune stroll in.

Sun was wearing an open white collared shirt, black compression shirt, blue jeans and black and yellow sneakers while Neptune wore black jeans, boots, and a red leather jacket with a white under shirt. Sun's grin fell when he saw that Jaune and Ren had beaten them to their practice room.

"Aw man! I told you we should have gone straight here." He then turned to Neptune, "But you just had to talk to Weiss, didn't you?"

Neptune merely shrugged. They had a system. The first two guys to get to the room on days they practiced would start setting up, and the last two would have to do it the next day. They'd play some songs, hang out, or just goof around in general after school here.

Jaune asked, "You talked to Weiss?"

"Yeah, we ran into her outside the science building." Neptune responded.

"Dude, she's totally in to you." Sun chimed in. the aqua-haired boy just shrugged, but Jaune could've sworn he saw Neptune's cheeks turn red for a second.

When they were done setting up, Sun sat behind the drums, Jaune stood while Neptune sat on his amp with their guitars, and Ren with his bass as he also sat on his amp. Jaune then took out a notebook, filled with various songs that they'd written and the lyrics and sheet music to them. "What should we play first?" Jaune asked as he leafed through the book, the others looking over his shoulder.

"How about this one?" Sun said, pointing to a song that they'd gotten down fairly recently. They all agreed and got ready. Sun counted down with his drumsticks, and Jaune took a deep breath and closed his eyes as they started. He stepped up to the microphone and waited for the vocal queue.

 **(When You Were Young by The Killers)**

 ** _You sit there in your heartache_**  
 ** _Waiting on some beautiful boy to_**  
 ** _To save your from your old ways_**  
 ** _You play forgiveness_**  
 ** _Watch it now, here he comes_**

 ** _He doesn't look a thing like Jesus_**  
 ** _But he talks like a gentlemen_**  
 ** _Like you imagined when you were young_**

 ** _Can we climb this mountain_**  
 ** _I don't know_**  
 ** _Higher now than ever before_**  
 ** _I know we can make it if we take it slow_**  
 ** _Let's take it easy_**  
 ** _Easy now, watch it go_**

 ** _We're burning down the highway skyline_**  
 ** _On the back of a hurricane that started turning_**  
 ** _When you were young_**  
 ** _When you were young_**

 ** _And sometimes you close your eyes_**  
 ** _And see the place where you Used to live_**  
 ** _When you were young_**

 ** _They say the devil's water - it ain't so sweet_**  
 ** _You don't have to drink right now_**  
 ** _But you can dip your feet_**  
 ** _Every once in a little while_**

 ** _You sit there in your heartache_**  
 ** _Waiting on some beautiful boy to_**  
 ** _To save you from your old ways_**  
 ** _You play forgiveness_**  
 ** _Watch it now, here he comes_**

 ** _He doesn't look a thing like Jesus_**  
 ** _But he talks like a gentlemen_**  
 ** _Like you imagined when you were young_**  
 ** _When you were young_**

 ** _I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus_**  
 ** _He doesn't look a thing like Jesus_**  
 ** _But more than you'll ever know_**

* * *

 **At that same time, on the other side of the building...**

Blake stopped walking as her feline ears twitched slightly under her bow. Yang turned and asked, "What's wrong, Blake?" The girl could've sworn she'd heard music playing from the fine arts building. She decided to ignore it for now. It wasn't uncommon for people to play music while they participated in their extracurriculars.

She assured Yang it was nothing to worry about and resumed walking home.

* * *

 **Jaune's POV**

I entered my bedroom and flopped down onto my bed, letting a tired groan out and just laid there, letting my mind go blank for a minute. After I finally got up, I sat down at my desk and checked my phone. It was 4:30 right now, so i could do my homework and then meet up with Ren and Nora to get food.

* * *

"So what songs are you guys gonna play tomorrow?" Nora asked as she bit into her third taco. Ren replied, "We're not sure yet. Sun and I we're talking about doing Hell Yeah the other day."

"Alright. How about that and New Perspective?" I suggested. We were scheduled to play at Club D downtown at 7:00 PM. "So, are you guys gonna tell me why you all got detention?" I asked Ren. He sighed, "Well, Sun and I were in science class when one of Cardin Winchester's cronies made a racist comment. They argued for a bit and then Sun stood up and yelled 'Come at me Bro' and I just got dragged in by association."

"Wait, why didn't you guys tell me at lunch?" I asked, confused. Ren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Because Sun also took his shirt off while he was yelling." There was a note of silence before Nora and I burst out laughing. Once we pulled ourselves together, we started finishing and paying for the food, we got into Ren's car and Ren drove us home.

* * *

 **Friday**

After another boring school day, I made my way to the detention hall to sit in a room and do nothing for two hours after school. Once I got there, I found a note on the door:

 _Attention: Detention for Friday will be held in the Fine Arts Building due to remodeling_

 _in room 4C at 3:00 PM_

I just shrugged and headed toward the arts building. Once there, I walked in to see a bunch of desk strewn into a grid like an actual classroom. The instruments and furniture were now squished into a corner which irked me a bit. My friends and I had been taking good care of those and seeing them put aside with so little care was bothersome, to say the least.

I found my friends sitting in a group, Sun holding his fingers up like a goal post while Ren aimed a finger football made of paper up. Neptune was watching attentively until he said, "Now!" Ren flicked it, the paper flipped through Sun's fingers and hit him in the nose.

"It's good." Neptune proclaimed, Ren smirked victoriously. I sat down with them and we talked for a few minutes before the door opened and four girls, specifically Yang Xiao Long, her sister, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna walked in...Followed by Professor Goodwitch. Detention had officially started.

The teacher waited for everyone to find seats before she spoke, "Now that we are all here, know that all of you will be here for the next two hours and are expected to behave. You may not leave the room until I say so. Now, I have other matters to attend to and will return after your two hours are up." She walked out the door, and as soon as the click of the door was heard, Sun said, "Dude, I bet she's heading to Ozpin's office, if you know what I mean."

* * *

Blake sat quietly and read her book as Yang and Ruby talked and Weiss occasionally got roped in. For whatever reason, she couldn't stop glaring and being annoyed every time the four male occupants of the improvised detention hall did anything. And they were mostly talking.

Everyone went quiet when the door opened and Professor Goodwitch reentered. She cleared her throat before excusing everyone and allowing them to go home for the weekend.

Jaune and his friends gathered their stuff as they walked out after the others. They waited for them to get out of earshot before going back into their practice room. The teens cleared the floor of the desks before setting up their instruments and getting ready to practice.

* * *

 **Bold is Jaune's lines,** _Italics is Neptune's lines, **Bold and Italics is both singing**_

* * *

 **(Grand Theft Autumn by Fall Out Boy)**

 **Where is your boy tonight?**  
 **I hope he is a gentleman**  
 **And maybe he won't find out what I know**  
 **You were the last good thing about this part of town**

 **When I wake up**  
 **I'm willin' to take my chances on**  
 **The hope I forget** _**that you hate him**_  
 _ **More than you notice I wrote this for you**_

 _ **You need him, I could be him**_  
 **I could be an accident but I'm still tryin'**  
 **And it's more than I can say for him**

 **Where is your boy tonight?**  
 **I hope he is a gentleman**  
 _ **And maybe he won't find out what I know**_  
 _ **You were the last good thing about this part of town**_

 **Someday I'll appreciate in value**  
 **Get off my ass and call you**  
 **In the meantime I'll sport my brand new fashion**  
 **Of waking up with pants on at 4 in the afternoon**

 _ **You need him, I could be him**_  
 **I could be an accident but I'm still tryin'**  
 _ **And it's more than I can say for him**_

 **Where is your boy tonight?**  
 **I hope he is a gentleman**  
 _ **And maybe he won't find out what I know**_  
 _ **You were the last good thing about this part of town**_

 **Won't find out**  
 _(He won't find out)_  
 **Won't find out**  
 _(He won't find out)_

 **Where is your boy tonight?**  
 **I hope he is a gentleman**  
 _ **And maybe he won't find out what I know**_  
 _ **You were the last good thing about this part of town**_

 _ **Where is your boy tonight?**_  
 _ **I hope he is a gentleman**_  
 _ **And maybe he won't find out what I know**_  
 _ **You were the last good thing about this part of town**_

The boys finished the song hard, panting a bit and feeling good about how they played. Little did they know, a girl in red had seen them and was running back to her friends to tell them.

* * *

Ruby couldn't believe what she'd heard. Those guys were freaking awesome. How could Weiss speak so little of them? Whatever, she had to show the others before those boys left. She sprinted to the parking lot in record time (She wasn't on the JV track team for nothing) and found her sister, Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha Nikos, and Nora Valkyrie, who Yang and Weiss knew through either sports or the advanced classes in Weiss's case. When Yang saw her she asked, "Ruby? Why are you running? Did you find your notebook?" Ruby panted for a moment before straightening up. "Sis! You won't believe what I just saw. So I went back to get my notebook and I saw those boys from earlier-and-they-were-playing-music-and-they-were-so-awesome-and-sis-you-have-to-come-see-its-so-cool!"

"Whoa there, Ruby. Remember to breathe!"

"No time! Come on before they leave!" With that, she started dragging her sister somehow and the others followed suit.

When they got there, they saw Jaune, Ren, Sun and Neptune messing around with their instruments before getting ready. Yang asked, "What are they-"

"SSSsshhh!" Thankfully, the boys hadn't heard as they started playing again.

 **(Can't Kick Up The Roots by Neck Deep)**

 **The golden groves are lined with affluence and roses**  
 _ **But the bagheads down by Central Station are closer to where home is**_  
 **It can be grim and send you West from time to time**  
 _ **Yeah, this place is such a shipwreck**_  
 **But this shipwreck, it is mine**

 **Day by day we grew to love this place**  
 **And where I make my grave, my anchor lays**

 _ **I've been wasting away**_  
 **But in a town with no way out** , _**there's not much else to do anyway**_  
 _ **If you're looking for a place to decay**_  
 **Then there will always be a place in my town called revelry**

 **I've seen a punch or two**  
 **Narrowly escaped a few**  
 _ **And if you can get the day off, I could show you a view**_  
 _I remember the football games_  
 _The first time that I got laid_  
 ** _And the time J broke his finger drinking by the lake_**

 **Day by day we grew to love this place**  
 _ **And where I make my grave is where my anchor lays**_  
 _ **The sound of my youth echoes out through these empty streets**_  
 **I guess I can't kick up the roots**  
 **It's home, and that's the truth**

 _ **I've been wasting away**_  
 **But in a town with no way out,** _**there's not much else to do anyway**_  
 _ **If you're looking for a place to decay**_  
 **Then there will always be a place in my town** **called revelry**

 **We know what it's like to be put down**  
 **So fuck you to the world, and stand your ground**  
 **We know how to turn it inside out and get a little bit rowdy**

 _ **We know what it's like to be put down**_  
 _ **So fuck you to the world, and stand your ground**_  
 _ **We know how to turn it inside out and get a little bit**_

 _ **I've been wasting away**_  
 **But in a town with no way out, there's not much else to do anyway**  
 **If you're looking for a place to decay** _(to decay)_  
 _ **Then there will always be a place in my town called revelry**_

 **I'm not stuck I'm staying** _(I'm not stuck I'm staying)_  
 **Yeah I said, I'm not stuck I'm staying** _(I'm not stuck I'm staying)_  
 **And if you've got sorrows to drown and the bottom's where you're bound**  
 **You will always have a place in my town _called revelry_**

The girls were shocked at what they'd just witnessed and made to back out into the hallway when one of them(Nora) knocked some books off of a Librarian's cart. The sound echoed loudly and drew the attention of the four musicians who walked over to the door. They saw the six girls standing there a bit awkwardly. When Jaune saw Nora, he said "Hey Nora."

"Hey Jaune!"

He then turned back to the other five girls, "Can we help you with something?"

* * *

 **Hello everyone. Here's the second chapter, I'm sorry it took me so fucking long to put this out.**

 **Don't forget to leave reviews and read some of my other stories. Thank You!**

 **-Fireballmonkey**


	3. Chapter 3

The group of girls, minus Nora, just watched as the bandmates talked with Nora casually. Finally, Yang cleared her throat. "Nora, are you going to introduce us to your...friends?"

* * *

After introductions, the girls had mainly asked about the boys' band. They'd been friends for around five years, Jaune, Ren and Nora having joined up first, then meeting Sun and Neptune a year later. They'd officially been playing together since freshman year. Jaune and Neptune had been the main songwriters, but the others had also helped in developing lyrics.

Before they knew it, it was 6:00 and the boys told them they had to go. When the girls asked, Nora told them that they had a gig downtown.

Yang, taking on the roll of the planner for the evening, made the executive decision to go see Jaune's band perform. The only objection was from Weiss, saying she had better things to do, but Yang did some convincing, privately telling her that she'd find out if Neptune was single. The young Schnee caved, but commented about how she had better things to do.

* * *

The boys went to their separate houses, then Neptune drove a restored VW van they used for equipment transportation. He picked up Jaune, Ren and Sun and they headed for downtown.

As the boys arrived at the small club and brought their stuff in through the employee entrance. As they assembled Sun's large drum kit, Jaune stepped out to observe the crowd. Doing so, he spotted Nora and the five of her friends from earlier enter. He gave a quick wave before going back to get ready.

 _Linebreak_

Blake and her friends looked around the establishment. There was a bar at one end, a large dance floor, and a stage for either bands or a DJ to perform. Their attention was pulled to the stage when they saw the boys step out with their instruments. They also noticed the boys had all changed clothes. Jaune wore a white shirt with half-length sleeves under an open, black collared shirt with red pants and white converse, topped off with a black and white ballcap. Neptune had on a simple red V-neck Tee with black shorts and blue sneakers with white accents. Ren wore a pink T-shirt under a green jacket and black pants and shoes. Sun wore a white open shirt over a black tank top with blue jeans rolled up to the knees and black/yellow converse.

Jaune walked to the center microphone and spoke, "How we all doing tonight?" He was met with cheers and clapping from the audience, "My name's Jaune, this is Ren, Neptune and Sun. Now that introductions are out of the way, let's make some noise!" before they played, Neptune walked up and whispered something to him. They exchanged words while covering the microphone and then Jaune spread it to the others.

 _Linebreak_

"What do you mean you want to switch songs?" Jaune asked Neptune.

"I'm just saying that we should do Elevated instead. It pairs better with Hell Yeah anyway." he explained. "And... Weiss'll probably be impressed that you wrote it?" The blonde finished. Neptune made a pleading gesture.

Jaune groaned, "The things I do for you." Jaune explained to Sun and Ren as fast as he could and grabbed a second microphone. He started plucking away at the strings and the others joined him as the crowd hushed.

 **(Elevated by State Champs)**

 _Pulled aside as if I was the wrong one,_  
 _You said it all and you made me the lost one._  
 _Elevated by your greatest mistake, now I'm all alone._  
 _I bet you couldn't tell that I felt the same way,_  
 _Struggling just to get to the next day._  
 ** _I'm not force fed lies while I'm by your side._**

 _Shaking your head doesn't change this._  
 _Preparing myself for a train wreck,_  
 _I can't be saved._

 _So tell me why_ **_can't you see_**  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 _You know, it's taken its toll on me,_  
 ** _But I don't feel invisible,_ whoa.**  
 _So tell me why **can't you see**_  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 _You know, it's taken its **toll on me,**_  
 _So I'll hope for a miracle._  
 _Yeah, I'll hope for a miracle._

 _Holidays tend to make me feel whole again._  
 _Rainy days make me feel like the dream is dead._  
 _I can show you what it's like to be down when you're all alone._  
 _I'm quite aligned to your design._  
 _What's mine is yours, and that's just fine._  
 _I'm finally acquiring the state of mind that everything is gonna be alright._

 _Shaking your head doesn't change this._  
 _Preparing myself for a train wreck,_  
 _I can't be saved._

 _So tell me why **can't you see**_  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 _You know, it's taken its toll on me,_  
 ** _But I don't feel invisible,_ whoa.**

 _So tell me why **can't you see**_  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 _You know, it's taken its **toll on me,**_  
 ** _So I'll hope for a miracle._**  
 _Yeah, I'll hope for a miracle._

 _And if you want to be free,_  
 _I can't be the one to make you believe._  
 _You've still got this promise to keep._  
 _Step back and wash away the reckless intentions._  
 _They're leaving me breathless._  
 ** _Find a way to stay in your skin._**

 _So tell me why can't you see_  
 _This is where you need to be?_  
 _You know, it's taken its toll on me,_  
 _But I don't feel invisible._

 _So tell me why **can't you see**_  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 _You know, it's taken **its toll on me,**_  
 ** _But I don't feel invisible,_ whoa.**  
 _So tell me why **can't you see**_  
 _This is where **you need to be?**_  
 ** _You know, it's taken its toll on me,_**  
 ** _So I'll hope for a miracle._**  
 _Yeah, I'll hope for a miracle._

Jaune strummed the last chord to end the song, hearing a roar of applaud from the crowd. Neptune spoke up, "Thank you, this next song was written by our own Jaune Arc."

Almost immediately following Neptunes words, Sun started drumming out a rhythm as the song started.

 **Hell yeah**

 **Punk rock trippin' with the flavor of hip hop**  
 **Spittin' out venom as I'm watching all your heads bob**  
 **Representing for the outcasts and the have nots**  
 **Feigning to find light in a world that has blacked out**

 _Your middle fingers up, yeah, put 'em up, we've had enough_  
 _We take a shot to the chin with a grin, we're tough_  
 _We know exactly why you're here so make it clear,_ **let's go**  
 _We know you want to let's go, let's go_

 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah,_ **we want control**  
 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah,_ **a scene to call our own**  
 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah,_ **I grip the microphone**  
 **And we're picking up speed like a rolling stone**

 _Let's go_ , **we can't live forever**  
 _One note,_ **the louder the better**  
 _So let's go_ , **we're in this together**  
 **Can't you hear me?**  
 _(Hell yeah, let's go)_

 **Let's go,** _we can't live forever_  
 **One note** , _the louder the better_  
 **So let's go,** _we're in this together_  
 _Can't you hear me?_  
 _ **(Hell yeah, let's go)**_

 **Rising from the ash, counter clash, there is no doubt**  
 **Swinging from the rafters are the kids who never sold out**  
 **Holding out for hope, this shit is dope, hear the crowds shout**  
 **Fighting to survive, one day we'll make them tap out**

 _We'll raise your voices up, yeah, raise 'em up, we've had enough_  
 _We're standing up and now we're being heard the gloves are off_  
 _The voice is loud, we have the crowd, the time is now,_ **let's go**  
 _We know you want to let's go, let's go_

 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah,_ **we want control**  
 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah_ **, a scene to call our own**  
 **Hell yeah,** _hell yeah,_ **I grip the microphone**  
 **And we're picking up speed like a rolling stone**

 _Let's go,_ **we can't live forever**  
 _One note,_ **the louder the better**  
 _So let's go,_ **we're in this together**  
 **Can't you hear me?**  
 ** _(Hell yeah, let's go)_**

 _Let's go,_ **we can't live forever**  
 _One note_ , **the louder the better**  
 _So let's go,_ **we're in this together**  
 **Can't you hear me?**  
 _ **(Hell yeah, let's go)**_

 **Get up tonight, stand up and fight**  
 **They are here, they are in sight, they're inside**  
 **And I can't go alone on this microphone**  
 **Is this on? Is this on?**

 **This flow is definitive, make your throat hurt**  
 **A gagged voice with no choice, it's so limited**  
 **Hell yeah, come on, hell yeah, it's on**  
 **Bounce to the boom of the beat of the drum, drum**

 ** _Let's go, we can't live forever_**  
 _One note_ ** _, the louder the better_**  
 _So let's go,_ **we're in this together**  
 **Can't you hear me?**  
 _ **(Hell yeah, let's go)**_

 _Let's go,_ **we can't live forever**  
 _One note,_ **the louder the better**  
 _So let's go_ **, we're in this together**  
 **Can't you hear me?**  
 _ **(Hell yeah, let's go)**_

 **Hell yeah**

"That's it for tonight everyone, thanks for coming out." Jaune slumped his shoulders a bit. A thin layer of sweat was wiped off his forehead as his bandmates left the stage and the next performers came on. The four musicians were quickly met by Nora and her friends. General compliments and appraisals on their musical talents were given, followed by small talk as they group stayed and watched a few other bands.

* * *

It was Saturday, Jaune and his friends sat in his room. Sun was lying on the bed with his head hanging upside down off the side. The rest sat in bean bag chairs. Neptune was absentmindedly strumming an acoustic guitar while Ren was writing things down in a notebook and Jaune sat with a brown and black cat that had no tail in his lap. They were currently trying to write a new song, but it was taking longer than usual.

"I've got nothing. Guys, I've got nothing."

"Yep me too."

"Well's run dry." The group absorbed the discouraging situation until Sun spoke up. "Maybe we need some...Inspiration."

"Dude, my dad is right down stairs. If he catches me smoking pot in the house again, he'll g into one of those long sullen silences followed by sarcastic, rude comments about how he expected better from me."

"That's it?"

"You haven't seen my dad that way. When he found a pack of cigarettes in Noir's room, he aggressively called her Smoky for three months. Getting called mean names by your amputee veteran father for an extended amount of time tends to have a negative effect."

"Oh, come on. He won't find out."

"Alright, but I can't be held responsible if he try to beat us all to death with his leg."

"Wait, what?"

"My life is different than yours."

Sun grabbed a backpack from where he dropped it next to the door and pulled out a few small sheets of paper and a plastic bag with clumps of green plants. "Let's get cooking."

* * *

 **Sorry for the lateness of the chapter. Thanks fro reading and be sure to check out my other stories if you want!**

 **-Fireballmonkey**


	4. Chapter 4

"Uuuuggh..." Jaune rose from his position on the floor. His head felt fuzzy and his eyes stung a bit. He looked around his room. Nothing much had changed, Sun was sprawled out on the bed, a half-eaten banana peel peeking out from a family sized bag of potato chips that rested on his stomach. His eyes were half open and tinged red. Ren was spooning his acoustic guitar and mumbling about pancakes, while Neptune was the only one on his feet. He was currently studying a whiteboard they'd somehow wheeled into his room _on the second floor of his house_.

Jaune got up and walked over, taking a closer look at the board. Most of it was just gibberish, but on the right side of the board, written in dry-erase, were two words.

 _Rooster Teeth._

Under it was a logo: a set of wind up teeth you'd see in old comedy films in front of a chicken. _Or a rooster,_ he thought. "The hell is that?" Sun had come back to his senses and walked over to the whiteboard, along with Ren. "Maybe we were thinking of song titles?" Neptune suggested. Jaune shook his head.

"Rooster Teeth?" Ren questioned, "Did we finally pick a band name?" Jaune shrugged. "Why not? Its not like we have better ideas. Speaking of, did anyone think of shit for a song?" Neptune studied the rest of the board. "A few things, but it might take some time to sort this crap out. There's a lot of random junk written on here. Some of it in Spanish." He sent Jaune a look. Sun checked it out, "What's an achievement hunter?" No one could think of a good answer. "Well, one thing's for certain. We're Rooster Teeth now."

Sun sighed, "Fantastic."

* * *

The newly named Rooster Teeth sat on the bleachers set on the sidelines of Beacon's soccer field. They were currently being watched by Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna and Coco Adel. Coco had approached her blonde friend earlier and asked if she knew anyone of above-average music abilities since the DJ she'd hired for the upcoming Winter Formal had cancelled unexpectedly. Yang's thoughts immediately jumped to the only band she new personally.

 _Linebreak_

"So, what do we say when people ask why our band is named Rooster Teeth?" Sun asked as he inhaled through the cigarette they were currently passing around. The boys had found a pack under the bleachers and decided to confiscate them. Like the stand-up citizens they were.

"We lost a bet?"

"We found a rooster with teeth?"

"Thought of it while getting baked off our asses?"

Sun passed the cigarette to Neptune, who thought a minute. "Why don't we just divert the attention away from that subject."

"What, like, just ignore it and move on?" Jaune asked as he lay sideways on one of the higher benches. "Yep."

"Alright. That's an idea I can get behind."

"Great, but that doesn't solve the issue of us finding a song to write."

Neptune was silent as they all pondered that before saying, "Grass."

"What about grass? A song called grass? A song about grass?"

"...Soccer."

"Are you just naming things you see and hoping lyrics will come to you?" Ren questioned. Neptune sighed forlornly before handing Ren the butt. "Correct."

"Oh boys~" They saw Yang and Blake approach, along with Coco Adel, one of the other popular girls. Jaune smothered the cigarette on the bottom of his shoe before flicking it down under the bleachers and sitting up. "Afternoon, Yang."

"Howdy. Are you looking for any gigs?"

Jaune made a hissing sound as he inhaled through his teeth, "I'm almost afraid to ask, but why?"

"Well, my friend Coco here is in charge of planning for the Winter Formal Dance and needs a musical act."

The boys shared a look before Sun asked, "How much?"

That seemed to throw Yang for a loop, "Pardon?"

"How. Much. In Cash. Would. You. Pay. Yang." Sun sounded each word out so she heard it crystal clear.

"Wha-You wouldn't just do this out of the goodness of your hearts? You'd be supporting the school!" She frowned when the boys started laughing.

Jaune caught his breath enough to reply, "Look, Xiao Long, that ain't exactly the way the world works. We pay taxes so the schools teach us things we don't care about, while we do something for it that actually somewhat matters? We'll need reimbursement." Blake gave a look of disbelief, "For what?"

Ren counted list off with his fingers, "Gas money, equipment rental, possible damage to our equipment or bodies, payment for performing, snacks."

"Snacks?"

"Snacks." Ren repeated. Coco sighed and asked, "How much?"

"Three hundred." Jaune answered.

"One hundred."

"Three Hundred." Said Neptune.

"Two."

Ren: "Three hundred."

"Two-fifty."

Sun: "Three. Hundred."

"Two hundred and a twenty dollar giftcard to Starbucks."

"Deal." They all said in unison.

Coco wrote something down on a pocketbook before stuffing it in her purse. "The dance is in two weeks. I'll have to hear your stuff for myself beforehand. Someone will E-mail you the details." She started walking away as lunch ended, Yang and Blake following after.

Ren leaned back and lit another cigarette. "Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think we're gonna do after this?"

"What, like, after school?" Jaune asked.

"No, like, what about our futures?"

He passed Jaune the cigarette. "We could always keep playing. It's not like you have to be very talented to get a record deal. Just take a look at The Motels."

"Who are The Motels?" Neptune asked.

"Exactly."

Ren said, "Well, we don't exactly have a lot of other useful skills. This is kind of all we know."

Jaune sighed, "I'm sure we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"Don't you mean _cross_ that bridge?"

"Little column A, little column B."

* * *

"Okay, what if we have the teeth in front of the rooster, then the words underneath." The bandmates sat in room 4C, Jaune sat at one of the desks with the other three crowded around him. He had multiple sheets of paper, some crumpled up and tossed away. They were trying to draw up a logo for RoosterTeeth, when in walked Yang, Blake, Coco and three other girls.

The first was a brunette rabbit faunus, the second was Student Body President Cinder Fall, and the lead editor of the school newspaper, Emerald Sustrai.

"Can we help you?" They all turned to the new occupants of the room. "We're kinda in the middle of something."

"Drawing chickens with teeth?" Blake asked as she observed the numerous scrapped drawings littering the room. "It's a rooster."

"Why?" Yang asked. Jaune replied, "Our band name." He showed his latest one, a solid red rooster with a pair of windup teeth next to it, the words _Rooster Teeth_ under them.

"Whaddya think?"

After five minutes of Yang laughing at their name, Coco explained how she wanted to hear them play and introduced them to her cousin, Velvet Scarletina. Not wanting to waste time and wanting to shut Yang up about the name, they grabbed their instruments. Except that Jaune left his guitar in the stand. He pulled a black laptop from his backpack and hooked it up to one of the amps. It started playing some sort of mix of bongo drums and marimba. They waited a few beats before Sun started on the drums. and Neptune and Ren began to play while taking seats on either the scattered furniture or on top of the amps.

Jaune swayed to the beat and twirled the microphone on its cable until his queue came.

 **(Hard Times - Cover by NateWantsToBattle, Originally by Paramore)**

 **All that I want**  
 **Is to wake up fine**  
 **Tell me that I'm alright**  
 **That I ain't gonna die**  
 **All that I want**  
 **Is a hole in the ground**  
 **You can tell me when it's alright**  
 **For me to come out**

 _ **Hard times**_  
 **Gonna make you wonder why you even try**  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 **Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry**  
 ** _These lives_**  
 **And I still don't know how I even survive**  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 **And I gotta get to rock bottom**

 **Walking around**  
 **With my little rain cloud**  
 **Hanging over my head**  
 **And it ain't coming down**  
 **Where do I go?**  
 **Gimme some sort of sign**  
 **You hit me with lightning!**  
 **Maybe I'll come alive**

 _ **Hard times**_  
 **Gonna make you wonder why you even try**  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 **Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry**  
 _ **These lives**_  
 **And I still don't know how I even survive**  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 **And I gotta hit rock bottom**

 **Tell my friends I'm coming down**  
 **We'll kick it when I hit the ground**  
 **Tell my friends I'm coming down**  
 **We'll kick it when I hit the ground**  
 **When I hit the ground**  
 **When I hit the ground**  
 **When I hit the ground**  
 **When I hit the ground**

 **Hard times**  
 **Gonna make you wonder why you even try**  
 **Hard times**  
 **Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry**  
 **These lives**  
 **And I still don't know how I even survive**  
 **Hard times** _(hard times)_  
 **Hard times** _(hard times)_  
 **Hard times**

 **Gonna make you wonder why you even try**  
 _ **Hard times**_  
 **Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry**  
 _ **These lives**_  
 **And I still don't know how I even survive**  
 **Hard times** _(hard times)_  
 **Hard times**

 _Makes you wonder why you even try_  
 _Makes you wonder why you even try_  
 _Makes you wonder why you even try_  
 _Makes you wonder why you even try_

 _Still don't know how I even survive_  
 _Still don't know how I even survive_  
 _Still don't know how I even survive_  
 _Still don't know how_

 **And I gotta get to rock bottom**

Cinder Fall clapped slowly and smiled before leaning over to Coco, "They'll do." She said.

* * *

A week passed since Rooster Teeth "auditioned" for the Winter Dance, and Jaune was kind of stressing out. It was Friday afternoon, and he had about a hundred things to do. He had to pick up Amber and Violet from school, bring Verde her textbooks so she could study at the library, then pick up takeout for the whole family.

To top that all off, the family was going over to Abuela's house Sunday night for dinner. Abuela was Mexican, Catholic, and possibly insane. But she made the greatest fish tacos in the known cosmos. He wondered if Abuelo, or Pops, as he preferred to be called since their divorce, would attend. He loved Abuela's cooking more than just about anyone and they were still on relatively good terms since mom passed away.

He needed a break. Thankfully, he could express his feelings through music. However, his band was busy tonight, so he called up Michael Harper. His uncle ran a club that held open mic nights a lot. A lot of "up and coming" rappers went there to try and show the skill they mostly didn't have.

Once he finished all the errands, it was almost seven. He grabbed his laptop and jumped into the car. He hadn't eaten any of the takeout yet, since performing sometimes made him nauseous.

He arrived at the club downtown and went in through the revolving door at the front. Club D was pretty crowded tonight, since it was a Friday, and he made his way behind the stage. Michael greeted him with a bro-hug.

"We managed to squeeze you in. You're on in ten." He thanked his friend and went over to the tech guy to help set up. The ten minutes went by fast, and he was ready. He shook out any worry he still had and went on stage.

"Uh, hi. I'm Jaune," He said. "So, I was surrounded by catholicism as a kid and spent twenty minutes on GarageBand. This is the product of that. Hit it!"

Immediately, a bunch of techno-filler sounds played before it was cut off by various string instruments.

 **(RANT (God Rap) - Bo Burnham)**

 **All the seats at the Sunday masses,**  
 **Filled with the mass's massive asses,**  
 **Classes pass as fast as molasses.  
** **Ceremonial reading glasses.**

 **Read a little bit of Leviticus.**  
 **All the kids are a little too little for this.**  
 **All the parents nod in agreement -**  
 **"I think I can vaguely see what he meant."**

 **It's too early in the morning glory**  
 **To read another allegory story,**  
 **The father, reads a little bit farther,**  
 **Assuring the assured that they need not bother.**

 **"When god, in verse 45, said that slaves are okay to buy,**  
 **He meant that people, all from the start**  
 **Each have slaves within their hearts.**  
 **Things, that we have sold or boughten, that are forced to pick our 'moral cotton'**  
 **God calls us to set these free, free our hearts from slavery...**  
 **And then as God goes on to explain the logistics of buying and selling slaves...**

 **He... Uh... He was just messing around...**

 **Je- Jesus is a cool guy...**

 **In the back, I sit and I nod to the beats that are bumpin' from my iPod**  
 **My God, they're starting to pray**  
 **And over the music I can hear them say**  
 **"Dear God, dear lord, dear vague muscular man with a beard or a sword."**  
 **Dear good all-seeing being, my way or the highway Yahweh.**

 **The blue-balled anti-masturbator, the great, all-loving faggot hater,**  
 **I'd like to thank your holy might for making me both wealthy and white**  
 **And though this is your day of rest, I come to you with one request**

 **There's so much pain beyond this steeple,**  
 **Wars and drugs and homeless people.**  
 **Sadness, where there should be joy, hate and rape and Soulja Boy.**  
 **A world in darkness needs your light, so I'm sure your schedule's pretty tight**  
 **But my dog just had surgery if you could fix that first...**  
 **Jesus?**

 **Debra Messing's fingers in a holy place,  
"Hail Mary full of grace."**

Jaune took the mic off the stand and moved it to the side.

 **Obama, could you pass some hope to the pope**  
 **I know a couple dude's who wanna elope**  
 **See the church said, "nope" so the bros can't cope.**  
 **(the bros can grope but the bros can't cope)**  
 **They've been in love, they've been addicted**  
 **Who said they shouldn't? Benedict did.**  
 **Cause in the holy land of the lord he's the holy landlord and dicks are evicted.**  
 **Cause you can be a benedict if you've been a dick under Benedict but**  
 **You can't have benedicts because there's only one pope with only one dick**  
 **What? Yeah, a dick on a pope is**  
 **Just like a soap on a rope cause it's**  
 **Pointless, unless in prison,  
** **Throw up your bibles, Christ has risen.**

 **Hallelujah, now it's raining men,**  
 **Because the gender ratio is 1 to 10.**  
 **Winos at the Eucharist station, trans-gendered-substantiation**  
 **Jesus wasn't the messiah, get back I'm a heretic and I'm on fire**

 **It was Oedipus, those holy nights**  
 **The holy motherfucking Christ.**  
 **I'm a blasphemer post-Katrina cruising the marina. On a crusade to cruise aids**  
 **And blast FEMA**  
 **You're too late, we're fucked we don't need ya.**

 **Amen**

 **In the name of the father, son and holy ghost**  
 **Head, shoulders, knees and toes**  
 **Turn up your nose, strike that pose.**  
 **Hey, Macarena**

The beat ended with a record scratch as a roar of applause met Jaune's ears. He smiled and waved as he hopped off stage, receiving pats on the back and handshakes and congratulations from people.

He grabbed his stuff and made his way through the crowd until he heard a familiar voice. "Jaune?" He turned around to see Blake, Yang and Coco standing there.


	5. Heavy

The four boys were in their practice room, in a loose circle. Sun was at his drum set with Jaune across from him with a seven string guitar, Neptune to his right with a keyboard set up and Ren to his left with the bass. Everyone but Sun had a microphone. On a nearby table was Jaune's laptop that was wired to one of the amps. The beat on the computer started as they waited for their queue to start playing.

 **(Linkin Park - "Heavy" (cover by Our Last Night ft. Living In Fiction))**

 **Jaune:** I don't like my mind right now  
Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary  
 **Ren:** Wish that I could slow things down  
I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic  
 **Jaune:** And I drive myself crazy  
Thinking everything's about me  
 **Ren:** Yeah, I drive myself crazy  
'Cause I can't escape the gravity

 **Neptune:** I'm holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?  
 **Jaune:** Holding on  
So much more than I can carry  
 **Neptune:** I keep dragging around what's bringing me down  
If I just let go, I'd be set free  
 **Ren:** Holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?

 **Neptune:** You say that I'm paranoid  
But I'm pretty sure the world is out to get me  
It's not like I make the choice  
To let my mind stay so fucking messy  
 **Jaune:** I know I'm not the center of the universe  
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same  
I know I'm not the center of the universe  
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same

 **Ren:** I'm holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?  
 **Jaune:** Holding on  
So much more than I can carry  
 **Ren:** I keep dragging around what's bringing me down  
If I just let go, I'd be set free  
 **Neptune:** Holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?

 **Ren:** I know I'm not the center of the universe  
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same  
I know I'm not the center of the universe  
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same  
 **Jaune:** And I drive myself crazy  
Thinking everything's about me

 **Neptune:** Holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?  
 **Jaune:** Holding on  
So much more than I can carry  
 **Ren:** I keep dragging around what's bringing me down  
If I just let go, I'd be set free  
Holding on  
Why is everything so heavy?

 **Neptune:** Why is everything so heavy?

 **Jaune:** Why is everything so heavy?

* * *

 **Rest in Peace Chester Bennington, March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017**


End file.
